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Former Toronto cop who ate pot edibles on duty pleads guilty to attempting to obstruct justice

The judge, the prosecutor and the defendant’s own lawyer all called it a “stupid” decision. And it cost a Toronto police officer, who stole and consumed marijuana edibles seized during a raid, then became so high he thought he might die, his job.

Vittorio Dominelli, one half of a police duo who rose to notoriety earlier this year after they consumed cannabis-infused chocolate on duty, pleaded guilty in a College Park courtroom Friday to attempting to obstruct justice.

The married father of three, who had been with the Toronto police for 13 years, resigned in the wake of the incident, which saw him accused of breach of trust, a charge withdrawn Friday.

The former cop, whose father was a long-serving Toronto police officer, realized he had “lost the trust of the policing community and the public to the point where he could no longer be a police officer,” said lawyer Peter Brauti.

Friday’s hearing provided a detailed account of the high-profile incident, which became the subject of wide media coverage and mockery after it was reported that two cops consumed cannabis edibles on duty, then became so intoxicated they had to call for backup.

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“Send an ambulance,” Dominelli, 36, can be heard telling an emergency dispatcher on Jan. 27, in an radio call played in court.

“What’s going on?” the dispatcher asks.

“I think I’m going to pass out … I’m just light-headed,” he responds.

In a lengthy letter submitted into evidence, Dominelli apologizes to the public, the Toronto Police Service and his family, saying he turned the lives of his wife and kids “upside down.”

“The first place to start is to say I’m sorry, sorry for my actions, my judgment and for being so inconsiderate,” he wrote. “My actions were wrong, and the community that I served deserves that I be held accountable for those actions.”

His co-accused and partner that night, Const. Jamie Young, was not present in court Friday. She faces one count of criminal breach of trust and attempting to obstruct justice. The charges against her have not been proven.

In an agreed statement of facts read out by Crown prosecutor Philip Perlmutter, court heard Dominelli had been helping seize evidence following a raid of Community Cannabis Clinic on St. Clair Ave. W., part of which included unpacking large boxes of edible cannabis.

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During the course of cleaning up, he found three full cannabis chocolate bars that had not been loaded into an evidence bag, and put them in his pocket. Court heard he soon regretted taking the evidence, and thought about disposing of them at a nearby pizza place, where he had gone for a bite to eat.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Dominelli told Young that he was in possession of the edibles and the two discussed throwing them out at the pizza shop, but Young advised him that the bars should not be disposed of in a public place because someone could find them and consume them.

Later, while reassigned to work surveillance, Dominelli and Young began discussing marijuana and how they were both glad it would soon be legal so they could they could focus on more serious issues, such as guns. It was then, according to the agreed statement, that the pair discussed how neither had used cannabis before and decided to try the chocolate.

The warning on the back of the packaging of a cannabis-infused chocolate bar, presented in court on Friday. (Court exhibit)

“I’m down if you are,” Young is alleged to have told Dominelli, according to the agreed statement of facts.

Dominelli assumed it would be a “minor mellow,” court heard. The packaging contained eight chocolate segments and had warnings instructing consumers to take a small portion and wait 40 minutes. The package was later found empty.

Within 15 to 20 minutes, the cannabis hit Dominelli “like a ton of bricks,” court heard. He began sweating heavily, and, worried that the chocolate had been laced, became suddenly concerned he could die and began thinking about his wife and kids, 6-year-old twin girls and a 7-year-old daughter.

“My heart was pounding. I felt like it was going to come out of my mouth,” Dominelli says in a summary of his evidence submitted as an exhibit. “I realized instantly what a stupid thing I had done . At that point, I did not care any more about the prospects of getting caught or the professional consequences. I just wanted medical help.”

He made a 10-33 radio call, which means an officer needs assistance, summoning police to the scene. During the radio call, Dominelli did not report the details of what had happened, saying only that he needed an ambulance and was going to pass out.

One of the officers racing to scene slipped on the ice, sustaining a head injury that caused a serious concussion. Nearly a year later, she is still off work and is experiencing “significant difficulties with speech and vision,” Perlmutter said. She has to wear sunglasses all the time and has difficulty maintaining her balance, he said.

Dominelli, Young and the officer were all taken to hospital. While there, Dominelli threw up, after which he quickly recovered and began to feel normal. A blood test confirmed the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

Court heard Dominelli is deeply ashamed of the incident, which has taken a significant toll on his mental and physical health. He has lost weight, has sunken eyes from lack of sleep, shakes when he speaks and is “often reduced to tears when he talks about the situation,” Brauti said.

He said his client immediately began taking responsibility for his actions, including pre-emptively performing community service, resigning from the service and providing ample information to investigators probing the incident. Denied legal coverage by the Toronto Police Association, Dominelli has had to cover his own legal costs.

In submissions on Dominelli’s sentence before Judge Mary Misener, Brauti asked for a conditional discharge.

“Mr. Dominelli has literally done everything he can to try to make this right, although he recognized he never will be able to,” said Brauti, who characterized Dominelli’s behaviour as a “thoughtless act of stupidity.”

Misener agreed, at one point remarking: “The conduct here, you can’t describe it as anything other than stupid.”

But she reminded Brauti the behaviour is about a police officer tampering with evidence.

“On the continuum, this is on the very low end, but nevertheless this is an evidence-tampering case before me,” Misener said.

Perlmutter agreed, saying that while there was no doubt that it was a “stupid decision,” it had significant adverse consequences, including the serious injury caused to Dominelli’s colleague. He also noted that the charges against the seven people charged in connection to the marijuana dispensary raid were dropped because of Dominelli’s evidence-tampering.

Perlmutter also reminded Misener that Dominelli was armed with his service-issued firearm.

“The most important fact here is the completely unnecessary endangerment of life,” Perlmutter said.

A date for a sentencing decision hearing will be set next week.

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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